Lit Terms V

Satiric Comedy

focuses on ridiculing characters or killjoys, who resist the festive mood of comedy

high comedy

relies on wit and wordplay than physical action for humor

low comedy

places greater emphasis of physical action and visual gags

romantic comedy

plot focuses on one or more lovers who overcome difficulties to achieve a happy ending

comedy of manners

deals with social relations and sexual intrigues of sophisticated intelligent, upper-class men and women, whose verbal and witty dialogue produce humor

slapstick comedy

a type of farce, featuring pratfalls, pie throwing, fisticuffs, and other violent actions

farce

features exaggerated characters in ludicrous and improbable situations with sexual mix ups, crude verbal jokes, pratfalls, and knockabout horseplay

burlesque

a broadly humorous parody or travesty of another play

tragicomedy

comic situations or characters in a tragedy to lighten the mood

tragedy

representation of serious and important actions that lead to a disastrous end for the protagonist

drama

a play for theater, radio, or television

dramatic question

the primary unresolved issue in a drama as it unfolds

closet drama

a play meant to be read rather than acted out on stage

dramatic conventions

specific actions and techniques employed to create a dramatic effect and style

symbolic act

an action whose significance goes well beyond its literal meaning

theater in the round

audience is seated on at least 3 sides of the stage

stage business

incidental activity performed by an actor in the background

play

work of drama consisting of dialogue between characters and meant to be performed

orchestra

“the place for dancing”, ground floor seats

deus ex machina

“a god from a machine”, forced or improbable device in plot resolution

conceits

poetic device using elaborate comparisons

subplots

a second storyline or plot that is complete and interesting in its own right

conventional symbol

a literary symbol that has a conventional effect on most readers

catharsis

feeling of emotional release or the calm a spectator feels at the end of a tragedy

theater of the absurd

portrays the futility of human struggle in a senseless world

exodos

final scene or departure, especially in a tragedy and usually old comedy

hamartia

fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero

prologue

portion of play containing the exposition

flexible theater

theater that does not establish a fixed relationship between the stage and the audience

aside

a few words or short passage spoken in an undertone or to the audience

ensamble

group of musicians, actors, dancers who preform together

dramatist

a person who writes plays

box set

a set with a proscenium arch stage and three walls

symbolist movement

a loosely organized literary and artistic movement that favored dreams and visions

realism

an attempt to faithfully reproduce the surface appearance of everyday life

naturalism

characters presented as products or victims of environment and heredity

expressionism

used episodic plots, distorted lines, exaggerated shapes to draw audience into a dream like state

guerrilla theater

dramatization of political and social issues, usually preformed outdoors, as propaganda

rising action

part of a narrative that begins moving towards a climax

falling action

events in a narrative that follows the climax and brings the story to the conclusion

dialogue

conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie